Red Sox Get Good News On Key Trade Target From AL East Rival GM

The Boston Red Sox aren't going to be trade deadline sellers, but one of their American League East rivals sure is headed that direction.

It's been a brutal season for the Baltimore Orioles, and even after a win on Sunday, they're 10 games under .500 and 8 1/2 out of playoff position. Unless they can win out before the trade deadline, the writing is pretty much on the wall.

On Sunday, Orioles general manager Mike Elias appeared on MLB Network Radio and all but confirmed that he intends to trade away the team's veterans at the upcoming Jul. 31 deadline.

“The reality is, when we’re at that point in the standings and 11 days from the trade deadline, we got to be realistic about our situation,” Elias said. “The conversations that I’m having right now are more oriented towards being what’s out there for some of our major league players.”

The Red Sox just so happen to need a left-handed first baseman, and the Orioles may very well have the best one that could be available in free-agent-to-be Ryan O'Hearn, who was linked to Boston earlier in the weekend as a potential target.

O'Hearn, who blasted a homer on Sunday to help the Orioles avoid a sweep (gaining the Red Sox a game on the Tampa Bay Rays in the process) has a fantastic .282/.378/.458 slash line on the season, earning the starting designated hitter role for the AL at the All-Star Game.

Boston, meanwhile, has been getting by with an Abraham Toro-Romy Gonzalez platoon at first base, but Toro, who takes the starts against righties, has regressed sharply over the last month, which makes sense, as he'd never been a full-time big-leaguer before this season at age 28.

That the Orioles are (unofficially) committing to being sellers is good news for a lot of teams heading into the deadline. But the Red Sox need to take advantage of a rare opportunity to poach a slugger at a position of need from a division rival.